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I really have my moments of being one of the most idiotic humans on the planet. After realising yesterday that my S.A.D. was totally out of control, I bought a Lumie Zip lightbox today. (This is a small, 350g box that contains white/blue LEDs & allegedly has 2 hours of rechargeable battery life). I am getting more done than I have in weeks!

It cost me ￡160 from John Lewis. Had I been organised, I could have got it direct from the manufacturers without paying VAT (since it's a recognised medical device for treating a genuine condition), however that'd mean waiting until Tuesday & I needed it NOW. Yesterday. Last week. Probably last month.

I don't know if it's the best lightbox in the world ever, but it's tiny, portable, & presumably low-energy because it has LEDs rather than bulbs. It seems to work. I'll see if anything better exists once my literature report is submitted & I have spare time to look.

I asked about John Lewis's price match offer - apparently, it only applies to online prices if the retailer has a physical shop within 8 miles of the store. This does not apply in the case of buying the lightbox direct from Lumie, since they do not have a physical shop.

Stupidly, I utterly forgot about the fact that Boots online was offering it for £150. There are definitely Boots stores within 8 miles of John Lewis! I'm not sure if I could get that £10 back after the event.

"Please note though, that we won’t refund the difference in price paid if you could have bought the product more cheaply with an online-only retailer: examples of these include Dixons.co.uk, Amazon and Play.com ,who sell only through their websites or mail order and not via high street shops. We also don’t match competitors who are in administration or closing down."

and

"So, if you see or buy a product from us and find it cheaper with a high street competitor (that excludes online-only or mail order businesses such as Dixons, Amazon or Play.com, who don’t have shops), as long as their service conditions are comparable, such as delivery charges and guarantee terms, then we´ll match that price for you when you buy, or refund the difference for up to 28 days afterwards if you´ve already purchased."

so the manufacturer might be web only, which would exclude it but otherwise it doesn't matter where the store is located

as for vat refunds they handle them the same way they handle price match "qualify for a VAT refund, please email Customer Services or contact us on 08456 049 049 between 7am and midnight, 7 days a week, after your goods have been delivered. We'll then credit the amount of VAT charged."

I not certain if they need you to sign something form them - maplin had a downloadable pdf that they needed you to return